Bank Text Scam

Text alerts from your financial institution can be helpful, but only if they’re the real deal.

Who Is It Targeting: Bank customers

What Is It: Phishing scam that appears to originate from your bank

What Are They After: Scammers have taken to sending out thousands of text messages at a time, hoping to land on a customer who falls for it. Using the name of a well-known bank, the text states there’s something wrong with your account. You reply to the text or call the included phone number, only to be directed to enter your name, account number, PIN number, and more. Once the scammers have all that information, they drain the funds from your bank account and there’s little that your bank can do about it.

How Can You Avoid It:

• If you receive any kind of text, email, or phone call that you weren’t expecting, do not provide money or information.
• Instead, disconnect from them and contact your bank yourself to verify the security of your account.
• Never share your PIN number with anyone, not even a bank employee; in fact, if you’re asked for the PIN number on your account, you can rest assured it’s probably a scam.

If you think you may be a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530. Find more information about current scams and alerts here. For full details of this scam check out this article from SacBee.com.